How V&#233;lez S&#225;rsfield bucked trends to be Argentine champions again

ItÃ¢ÂÂs no secret that many clubs in Argentina are exceedingly badly run. Vested interests, debts and a whole host of other reasons can see teams sell a player for a vast sum, only for the money to seemingly disappear.

The income from these funded the move for midfielder David Ramirez, a player that had impressed with provincial outfit Godoy Cruz in the Apertura championship. While it may have seemed a questionable replacement for a striker (they did later bring in forward Guille Franco on a free), Ramirez was an example of thinking outside the box. Literally.

With marvellous forwards like Santiago Silva and Juan Manuel MartÃÂ­nez, even playing a lone forward would result in goals if they could provide chances. The issue was that head coach Ricardo Gareca and Christian Bassedas (the clubÃ¢ÂÂs sporting director) feared an over-reliance on Maxi Moralez (of whom more later). Ramirez provided extra depth in this department but was still obviously a goal threat.

He ended up as the championsÃ¢ÂÂ top scorer.

The rotation sensationItÃ¢ÂÂs a common theme in football that the successful are emulated. Look at the spate of sides to copy the 4-5-1/4-3-3 after Jose MourinhoÃ¢ÂÂs initial successes with Chelsea or current Argentina boss Sergio BatistaÃ¢ÂÂs unashamed Barcelona tribute act, complete with Ã¢ÂÂfalse nineÃ¢ÂÂ.

After coming up short in the Apertura Ã¢ÂÂ finishing two points off champions Estudiantes Ã¢ÂÂ and the aforementioned transfer dealings, they were left with plenty of options in midfield. This meant that Gareca, with one fewer top class striker, decided to be flexible in his systems to keep players fresh and to unsettle the opposition.

Formation-wise, they were flexible between a 4-5-1, 4-1-3-2 and all sorts of variations thereof. This was partially personnel-dependent but also an example of Gareca being a wise tactician. In Argentina, where thereÃ¢ÂÂs a plethora of systems being used, being able to attack the weaknesses of the opposition's line-up proved to be a vital weapon in the armoury.

Clean sheets and calamitiesIn a league where goalkeeping errors have been arguably the most memorable moments of the Clausura season, with Juan Pablo CarizzoÃ¢ÂÂs mistake in the SuperclÃÂ¡sico being the most high-profile of blunders...